are cardinals breeding in our area

[Aurorax]

I'm absolutely thrilled today as my male cardinal is now holding fry - fingers crossed it'll be a successful run this time around. A few weeks ago, I had a similar experience, but unfortunately, he ended up swallowing them on day 2, looking rather disappointed at missing out on his meal, and I must admit, who can blame him? It's a bit of an odd evolutionary quirk, isn't it?

I've recently purchased a large net cage, which I've been told to wait a week before transferring him into, assuming all goes well this time. If that's the case, what would be the ideal food for the fry? I'm also considering leaving him in the net with the babies for a bit to help him regain his strength, but I'm worried he might see the fry as a snack - has anyone else had this issue, and if so, how did you handle it?

[coltin]

I've got some experience with this - baby cardinalfish can start munching on newly hatched brineshrimp just as soon as they're spat out of dad's mouth. Now, some males might take the fry back in for a few days after they're first released, but most just don't bother and once they're out, they're on their own. I'd say it's a good idea to move the male out and feed him up, as he'll be pretty hungry after releasing the fry.

[Aurorax]

Thanks coltin for the advice, really appreciate it. When you say move dad out, do you literally mean out of the tank completely - that could be a bit of a logistical nightmare for me. Once they get into breeding mode, do they tend to do it a lot - I'm not sure I'm ready for a cardinalfish explosion. And on average, how many of the fry actually make it - is it a case of survival of the fittest or is there a decent success rate?

[finleydive]

My cardinal experience has been a wild ride - they've bred twice and both times were successful.

The first time, the male took 22 days to spit out all the fry, so I put him in a mesh breeder on day 18 and waited it out. Every time he spat out a fry, I'd catch it and put it in another breeder away from dad. Once he'd spat out all the fry, I put him back in the main tank and transferred his 22 babies to the bigger breeder. They instantly took to baby brine shrimp.

The cardinals bred again about 10 days later, and I repeated the process - waiting 18 days before catching the male and putting him in another breeder. When he started spitting out fry, I caught them and put them in a little floating breeder. After he spat out all 31 fry, I moved him to my sump to recover.

I figured if he kept breeding at that rate, he'd burn out from starvation and energy loss, so I gave him a break in the sump. He spent about two weeks in there, getting fed up and regaining his energy.

Once he was back in the main tank, I moved the larger babies from batch one into the sump - we'd lost four by that point - and they've got heaps more room to swim around in. I also transferred the breeder with batch two in - we'd lost three by that point.

Now I've got 18 larger fry swimming in my sump, eating finely chopped squid and prawn, and 28 smaller ones in a breeder still on baby brine. The male is back with the female, and I'm sure they'll be at it again soon.

[Aurorax]

I'm getting pretty stoked about this now. No sump for me, but a second breeding net is definitely doable. Thanks for sharing your experiences, it's great to know a decent percentage can be raised. I think I'll separate the male from the female straight away, given my setup. Thanks again, really appreciate the advice.

[rusticore]

Raising cardinalfish isn't too bad, compared to some other marine fish like clownfish. You'll be doing your part for an endangered species too, which is a bonus. Just don't expect to make a fortune off them, but fingers crossed they do well.

[finleydive]

I've always found it interesting that people think breeding cardinal fish won't be profitable. It seems like a pretty straightforward math problem to me. If you successfully raise 20 fish, and you sell them for a reasonable price, say £10 each, that's £200 right there. It's not about getting rich, but it's definitely a decent return on investment.

[rusticore]

My cardinal experience has been a wild ride - they've bred twice and both times were successful.

The first time, the male took 22 days to spit out all the fry, so I put him in a mesh breeder on day 18 and waited it out. Every time he spat out a fry, I'd catch it and put it in another breeder away from dad. Once he'd spat out all the fry, I put him back in the main tank and transferred his 22 babies to the bigger breeder. They instantly took to baby brine shrimp.

The cardinals bred again about 10 days later, and I repeated the process - waiting 18 days before catching the male and putting him in another breeder. When he started spitting out fry, I caught them and put them in a little floating breeder. After he spat out all 31 fry, I moved him to my sump to recover.

I figured if he kept breeding at that rate, he'd burn out from starvation and energy loss, so I gave him a break in the sump. He spent about two weeks in there, getting fed up and regaining his energy.

Once he was back in the main tank, I moved the larger babies from batch one into the sump - we'd lost four by that point - and they've got heaps more room to swim around in. I also transferred the breeder with batch two in - we'd lost three by that point.

Now I've got 18 larger fry swimming in my sump, eating finely chopped squid and prawn, and 28 smaller ones in a breeder still on baby brine. The male is back with the female, and I'm sure they'll be at it again soon.

It's all relative, I suppose. I was just comparing them to the more commonly bred species, like clownfish. They can have hundreds of larvae per spawn, which is a lot more than cardinals. That's where the bigger profits are, but like I said, it's still possible to make money with cardinals - just not as much as with some other species.

[finleydive]

I see what you mean now, I guess it's all relative when comparing to clownfish. For me though, the real excitement in breeding cardinalfish isn't about the financial gain, but the fact that you're contributing to the conservation of an endangered species - that's the real reward.

[rusticore]

My cardinal experience has been a wild ride - they've bred twice and both times were successful.

The first time, the male took 22 days to spit out all the fry, so I put him in a mesh breeder on day 18 and waited it out. Every time he spat out a fry, I'd catch it and put it in another breeder away from dad. Once he'd spat out all the fry, I put him back in the main tank and transferred his 22 babies to the bigger breeder. They instantly took to baby brine shrimp.

The cardinals bred again about 10 days later, and I repeated the process - waiting 18 days before catching the male and putting him in another breeder. When he started spitting out fry, I caught them and put them in a little floating breeder. After he spat out all 31 fry, I moved him to my sump to recover.

I figured if he kept breeding at that rate, he'd burn out from starvation and energy loss, so I gave him a break in the sump. He spent about two weeks in there, getting fed up and regaining his energy.

Once he was back in the main tank, I moved the larger babies from batch one into the sump - we'd lost four by that point - and they've got heaps more room to swim around in. I also transferred the breeder with batch two in - we'd lost three by that point.

Now I've got 18 larger fry swimming in my sump, eating finely chopped squid and prawn, and 28 smaller ones in a breeder still on baby brine. The male is back with the female, and I'm sure they'll be at it again soon.

I think businesses often miss the point, prioritizing profits over the greater good. Breeding endangered species like cardinalfish can be a rewarding experience, but it's not always about the financial gain.